Tag: antibiotics

Transmission interventions call

Pamela WernerNews and press

JPIAMR is launching an international call for projects under the umbrella of the JPIAMR and within the framework of the ERA-NET JPIAMR-ACTION.

The call “One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR”, with financial support from the European Commission, includes 30 funding organisations from 21 JPIAMR member countries. The total estimated call budget is 24.9 million Euro.

The call advocates for a One Health approach to understand the impact of interventions on the development and transmission of antibiotic resistance and to design, implement, evaluate, and compare interventions that will have a true impact on preventing or reducing the development and transmission of antibiotic resistance in and between the different One Health settings (human, animal, environment).

The call will support research projects that also have the potential for impact in areas where the risk and burden of AMR is greatest, such as in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

For more information please visit the call webpage: utveckling.jpiamr.eu/interventions-and-transmission-call-2021

Launch of call January 14th, 2021

Pamela WernerNews and press

More information on the upcoming call “One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR”, including a partner search tool is now available.

Pre-announcement: One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR

Early 2021 an international call for projects will be launched under the umbrella of the JPIAMR and within the framework of the ERA-NET JPIAMR-ACTION. The call, that will receive financial support from the European Commission, will include 30 funding organisations from 21 JPIAMR member countries. Proposals will be evaluated in a two-step procedure (pre-proposals/full proposals). The call will be launched on January 14th, 2021 and applicants will have up to March 16th, 2021, 12:00 (CET) to submit their pre-proposals.

A match-making partner search tool has been created for applicants, to facilitate networking and the creation of consortia.

Visit the call webpage for updated information on the context and topic of the call and to access the partner search tool: utveckling.jpiamr.eu/interventions-and-transmission-call-2021

Results Network Plus Call 2020

Pamela WernerNews and press

Seven networks have been recommended for funding within the JPIAMR 10th transnational call: “JPIAMR Network Plus 2020”.

Seven networks including 146 partners from 35 countries have been recommended for funding within the JPIAMR 10th transnational call: “JPIAMR Network Plus 2020”. The total funding amount is approx. 737.000 €.

The call was launched in February 2020 and supported by research-funding organisations from eight JPIAMR member countries.

The intent of the call was to support networks to design and implement ways to support AMR research considering at least one of the six strategic areas of the JPIAMR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA): Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Surveillance, Transmission, Environment and Interventions. Networks should develop and implement activities focusing on AMR within the domains of Human health, Animal health and the Environment. The Networks were encouraged to bridge multiple One Health areas as needed and to consider the incorporation of their activities within the JPIAMR-Virtual Research Institute (JPIAMR-VRI).

Read more and see list of all networks recommended for funding.

Call open to viral-bacterial co-infection Networks!

Anders BjersNews and press

Networks working on AMR in the context of viral-bacterial co-infections, including those working with Covid-19, are eligible to apply for the call.

The intent of the call “JPIAMR Network Plus 2020” is to support networks to design and implement ways to support AMR research considering at least one of the six strategic areas of the JPIAMR Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda: Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Surveillance, Transmission, Environment and Interventions. Networks should develop and implement activities focusing on AMR within the domains of Human health, Animal health and the Environment. Networks working on AMR in the context of viral-bacterial co-infections, including those working with Covid-19, are eligible to apply for the call.

The tenth JPIAMR joint call for transnational networks is in partnership with seven JPIAMR member countries; Canada, France, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. The deadline for submission of applications is May 28th, 17.00 CET. Read more here.

Winners of Hacking AMR 2019

Anders BjersNews and press, VRI

The grand prize in the Hacking AMR 2019 event that was arranged in Stockholm, Sweden, 13-15 December was won by team ‘Mission Prescription’. The winning project presented an idea to support doctors in their prescribing behaviours by providing them with a tool to monitor their own prescribing in relation to the rest of the medical community. This type of intervention has the goal to reduce incorrect use of antibiotics.

The members in team ‘Mission Prescription’ were, from back row, left to right, in picture above: David Barber, Family Physician and researcher, Queen’s University, Canada; Lennard Epping, PhD student, Robert Koch Institute, Germany; David Hinrichs, Data scientist, Robert Koch Institute, Germany; Sabrina Wong, Health researcher and nurse, Canada; Vendela Wiener, Public Health Agency of Sweden; Sumeet Tiwari, PhD student, Robert Koch Institute, Germany. Missing in picture is Ewan Gray, Researcher, University of Edinburgh, UK.

The People’s choice award and Honourable Mention went to team ‘The Waiting Game’ who developed the concept for a game that can be played while a patient is in a doctor’s waiting room. The goal of the game is to educate the patient on AMR, limiting requests for unnecessary antibiotics.

The aim of the Hacking AMR 2019 hackathon was to bring together scientists, designers, patients, developers, innovators, students and entrepreneurs to collaborate, dream up & create solutions to real-world problems to improve human, animal and environmental health and wellbeing with regards to Antimicrobial Resistance. During the hackathon 40 participants formed seven different teams and worked on diverse digital solutions to AMR.

Royalty free photos by Eva Garmendia.

Hacking AMR 2019 is a Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance – Virtual Research Institute (JPIAMR-VRI) activity organised by the Swedish Research Council, Institute of Infection and Immunity (III) of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Research Council of Norway, Uppsala Antibiotic Center (UAC), and the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Medical School. Hacking Health Foundation were consultants for Hacking AMR 2019.

Showreel about the workshop

AMR top priority in European Council Conclusions

Anders BjersNews and press

We want to highlight this summers EU Council Conclusions (through the EU Ministers of Health) that reaffirms the challenge of AMR as a top priority for the EU. The Conclusions indicate that EU Member States should be supported in their efforts to combat AMR, but they also need to do more at national level. The Council agrees that the European Commission and EU Member States should further support JPIAMR efforts:

“The Council notes with great concern the market failure in antibiotic development and underlines the need for urgent action to stimulate the development of new antimicrobials, alternative therapies and rapid and modern diagnostics, including methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. EU and global coordination and cooperation on research programmes and incentives are needed, and the Council recognises, inter alia, the proposals and activities of the ‘Antimicrobial Resistance Review team’, the ‘Breaking Through the Wall’ report and the ‘Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance’.” (see p.8)

“Calls upon Member States and the Commission to: Boost research, development and innovation related to AMR, and support EU and global coordination and cooperation including activities through the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance and the Global AMR R&D Hub. (see p. 12)”

Please find the full Conclusions here.

Report – Countries Should Increase Funding for AMR Research by 50%

Anders BjersNews and press

Today we are reached by the final report from DRIVE-AB with the headline: “Revitalizing the Antibiotic Pipeline“. The context is that “The current pipeline for innovative antibiotics in various stages of R&D is insufficient, potentially delivering no more than one innovative antibiotic for a “critical” World Health Organization (WHO) priority pathogen within the next five years.”, the report say in the beginning.  A key reason for the DRIVE-AB report is to bring recommendations and guidance in the present context, when we are facing increased antibiotic resistance on a global scale.

One of the main recommendations is that countries should increase funding for AMR.

“Countries should make long-term commitments to continue financing of antibacterial R&D and ideally increase push funding by about 50 per cent.”, states the report.

DRIVE-AB finds that: “There may be capacity within existing multinational grant funding agencies – e.g. CARB-X, GARDP, JPIAMR (Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance) – to absorb and effectively deploy more capital.”

So, we are happy to see that JPIAMR is acknowledged as a key organisation and vehicle, among others,  who are trusted with the mission to fund even more research in order to harness AMR on a global scale. Since JPIAMR is coordinating research and funding for it’s 26 member nations – it fits very well to expand the operations in this direction.

The Drive-AB report continues: “Owing to the existing pipeline, much of this immediate funding should be placed in early- and mid-stage grants until the pipeline becomes more robust. Granting agencies should have specific calls for research targeting pathogens that pose the most urgent public health threats (e.g. WHO’s priority pathogens list for the discovery phase and TPPs for the development phase).”

The ongoing JPIAMR call for “New targets, compounds and tools – innovating against antibiotic resistant bacteria“, is a perfect example how countries are pooling resources and research to collaborate. This call responds to WHOs list of priority pathogens just as the report recommends.

However, funding is linked with the ability to both reach and enable researcher to apply for funds. This is something many more entities in the AMR field could collaborate on to a greater extent. If researchers are not aware of available funds and contexts to support research, we may miss opportunities to support research that can be life changing for the many.

The 6th Transnational Call is Now Open

Anders BjersNews and press

The sixth transnational call for research projects for the JPIAMR within the ERA-NET JPI-EC-AMR

THE CALL IS OPEN

The JPIAMR, in partnership with sixteen member countries; Belgium, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, is launching a sixth joint call for transnational research projects. The total budget of the 6th Call is approx. 14.4 million Euro.

The call targets research in the following topic:

Innovations against antibiotic-resistant bacteria: new targets, compounds and tools. Fundamental, translational research, with the exception of clinical trials.

Call procedure

The 6th Call has a two-step procedure. With a first stage, a pre-proposal submission, from which selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal, the second stage. The final funding decision will be announced in October / November 2018.

Deadlines

The pre-proposal submission deadline is March 7, 2018, (17:00, CET).
The full proposal submission deadline is June 14, 2018, (17.00, CET).

Information and application

For more detailed information and links to application process, please visit the page about the 6th Call.

6th Call Secretariat and National Points of Contact

The 6th Call Secretariat is hosted by the French National Research Agency, ANR.

All questions on national rules, eligibility, etc. should be directed to the national contacts, for contact information please visit the page about the 6th Call.

Spread the News

Reach out to researchers in participating countries. Use the template below and link to the page about the 6th call.

The Virtual Research Institute Workshop in Berlin – Outcomes and Actions

Anders BjersNews and press

One of the most interesting developments of the JPIAMR right now is the JPIAMR-VRI; the Virtual Research Institute on AMR. The JPIAMR-VRI is a key to unlock new potentials of AMR research and to be even more inclusive by increasing the diversity of researchers working together on AMR across disciplines, embracing the One Health approach.

From nearly all the continents of the world, with only South-America missing, a diverse crowd representing organisations in Japan, Egypt, South Africa, South Korea, USA, Canada and many European Countries met for two days in Berlin. During this two-day meeting we shared the room with representatives from research organisations, WHO, Wellcome Trust, Pew Charitable Trusts, GardP, IMI, Tatfar, the European Commission, The Global AMR R&D Hub, and CARB-X. The objective of the workshop was clear: To develop the scope, aims and model a JPIAMR Virtual Research Institute – a dynamic network for AMR research. Invited speakers shared examples of research networks that are successful and up and running today. Among them were Wim van der Poel from the Collaborating Veterinary Laboratories (Covetlab), Robert Hancock from the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network (CBDN) and Martin Krönke who shared insights from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).

The outcomes from the workshop can be summarised in two sentences: “Let’s get going” and “to be all inclusive and truly global”. As the focus and model for the VRI became clearer, participants asked for the VRI to have an element of disruption, because AMR research now needs to be addressed in new ways.

The JPIAMR-VRI is a virtual platform to connect research networks and research performing institutes/centres to implement Antimicrobial Resistance One Health collaborative research on the JPIAMR Strategic Research Agenda priority topics by increasing knowledge, diversity, collaborations and capability.

An important aim of the JPIAMR-VRI is to create long-term sustainability of networks; connect existing networks across borders and across disciplines, increase research outcomes; improve capabilities and training; and attract new/young scientists to the AMR field.

Some of the capabilities the VRI will provide and enable are:

  • Connecting AMR researchers under the JPIAMR priority topics in a One Health approach
  • Building capacity and strengthening capability
  • Facilitating access to scientific information and infrastructures
  • Global reach: Bridging geographic borders in the research community
  • Breaking practical barriers between fields of research
  • Increasing the visibility for the AMR issue
  • Driving the uptake of research into policy

Some of the potential outcomes of the JPIAMR-VRI are:

  • Integrating activities among networks: Joint research programmes/work plans across research centres or research networks
  • Develop knowledge gaps and gap analysis based upon and enhancing further the JPIAMR mapping/database of AMR research projects and research centres increasing visibility of the research performed
  • Data sharing
  • Sharing of negative results
  • Scientific evidence for policy and guidelines
  • Exchange programmes between researchers (e.g. fellowship schemes, travel grants etc)
  • Networking activities
  • Educational and training programmes

So, how is all this to be manifested? The JPIAMR member nations will take clear actions to build the foundation for the JPIAMR-VRI. We will implement the actual digital platform and the AMR context in 2018 via workshops, a JPIAMR Network/Working Group call and a variety of other activities.

Please continue to follow us via social media, subscribe to our newsletter and connect with us to follow and engage in the process and progress of manifesting the JPIAMR-VRI.

Network Call Pre-announcement – AMR Surveillance Network

Anders BjersNews and press

JPIAMR Working Groups are motivated groups of leading experts funded in order to enhance resource alignment and pushing forward the new ideas of value to the wider research community. Working groups are coordinated by scientists from participating countries but open to international experts.

Preliminary scope of the call: Improvement, integration, standardisation and impact of surveillance. Methods, integration and impact.

Participating countries, to date: Argentina, France ,Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK. 

Budget: Approx. 50 000 €/network, up to a year.

Publication of call in 2018

Sign up for JPIAMR Newsletter to receive information about the Call.